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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a sharp warning Saturday about President Donald Trump’s posture toward Venezuela, accusing him of edging the U.S. “closer and closer to another costly foreign war” without congressional approval.
In a blistering statement, Schumer criticized Trump’s recent escalation towards Venezuela and argued that the president had upended the Constitution.
“President Trump’s reckless actions towards Venezuela are pushing America closer and closer to another costly foreign war,” Schumer stated. “Under our Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war — not the President — and Congress has not authorized the use of military force against Venezuela.”
The minority leader cautioned the president to avoid entering into another overseas conflict, writing that “Americans are tired of endless foreign wars that cost the lives of countless American service members and drain precious resources.”
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“This is not an America First policy,” he added.
Schumer called for bipartisan pushback, urging his colleagues in Congress to “come together to return the power to declare war back to the people.”
The New York Democrat’s comments came after Trump wrote on Truth Social that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety.”
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“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” he wrote.
That post came a week after the Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines of a “worsening security situation” in the area.
While speaking to U.S. service members on Thanksgiving, Trump said the U.S. will “very soon” begin stopping suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers “by land.”
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“In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many,” Trump said. “Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore. Have you probably noticed that?”
The president added that drug traffickers kill “hundreds of thousands of people a year” in the U.S. from the “poisons” they bring in.
Trump has not dismissed the idea of out sending American troops into Venezuela, stating on Nov. 17 that he hasn’t eliminated the possibility.
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Asked whether he ruled out troop deployments, Trump responded, “No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything.”
On Friday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean Sea.
“As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,” Hegseth wrote on X. “The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
Hegseth’s statement followed reports from multiple news outlets, including The Washington Post and CNN, that claimed the U.S. military ordered a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean on Sept. 2 after the initial attack left two survivors.
“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” Hegseth added in his post.
House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Ranking Member Adam Smith, D-Wash., issued a joint statement Saturday reiterating that the committee is “committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean.”
“We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,” the lawmakers wrote.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton, Brie Stimson, Greg Norman and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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